Music from Wallonia-Brussels underrated in Flanders

K's Choice, Hooverphonic, Selah Sue, The Magician, Netsky, dEUS... A lot of Flemish bands and solo artists have gotten very popular in the whole country and even internationally. On the other side of the language border, a lot of nice bands have been playing too, but some of them have recently complained about their weak representation in the Belgian media and their lack of budget... Apparently, it is less easy to get famous and advertised in Flanders when you're a French speaker, even when you sing in English. Let's examine the situation and give you some nice music videos of the French-speaking community!

The truth is, singers and groups from Wallonia and Brussels find it particularly difficult to establish themselves in Flanders, especially if they sing in French. Some share the exact same label as Flemish bands who sing in English and are famous in the whole country, but their success is much weaker. It's a pity, because a bunch of them could benefit from being a little more famous, like Great Mountain Fire.

Great Mountain Fire - Late Lights

The problem is that if you want to get famous in your whole country, you first need to be famous in your own community... And here the problem comes from customers and radio listeners. Artists have noticed that the French-speaking public wasn't as curious as the Flemish one could be, probably because the latter is more influenced by a more diversified Anglo-Saxon culture. Walloons would rather listen to famous French or international artists than their own ones, which have a smaller budget. This explains why originally "indie rock" radio PureFM has now turned into mainly a mainstream broadcaster, favouring Pharrell Williams over Soldout, for instance, an electro-rock band from Brussels.

Soldout - 94

By contrast, Flemish people have a certain degree of pride for their own culture and they feel that they need to protect it. As a consequence, Flemish artists are more often considered as celebrities in Flanders than Walloon artists in Wallonia. French-speaking bands usually need to be really good on stage to rely on the word-of-mouth process to get famous, rather than the national media. That kind of thing happens with bands such as the fancy rockers from Piano Club.

Piano Club - Love Hurts

A lot of bands have already toured in Wallonia and France with a lot of venues, probably because their cultures are closer. But it's in vain that they try to be famous in Flanders. Some have been into business for some time now and most of them actually sing in English. However, they still suffer from being French speakers when they tour in Flanders, as they get smaller crowds and venues. People might say it is because they still have a French accent and their lyrics are so-so, and it might be an obstacle for an intercommunity success indeed. This doesn't seem to be the case for a band like BRNS (from Brussels - it's pronounced "brains"), which has been recently building its success in English.

BRNS - Mexico 

Some Walloon/Brussels bands only sing in French, perhaps because it's what they can do best. Examples include Eté 67, which was more famous in the 2000s, or more recently Suarez, who has become very popular in the French community (the singer is in the jury of The Voice Belgium, French version), with its musicians from Madagascar. Yet, these bands are not famous at all in Flanders, which is strange, because, as said in that blog post, Flemish singers who sing in French while it's not their mother tongue (Axelle Red, dEUS, Vive la Fête, Arno...) are praised in the whole country!...

Suarez - Qu'est-ce que j'aime ça

Is there a particular resentment from Flanders towards French-speaking Belgian artists? In general, there is very little room for these in the playlists of famous Flemish radios like Studio Brussel, which rather prefers international and Flemish artists. In fact, the only way to get famous in Flanders is to find fame in some other non-French-speaking countries and to come back here with a nice reputation. See the case of Stromae, a French-speaking singer that Flemish people seem to love, as well as the rest of Europe. And he only sings in French...

Have you heard of any other artist from Wallonia or Brussels? Don't be afraid to share them in a comment!